Burning Bright
by english sunshine
Summary: Lux always dreamed of becoming a Star Guardian. Jinx wished nothing less than to have that kind of responsibility. But for both, being a Star Guardian is completely different to what they'd imagined. As Jinx's rejection to her fate threatens that of the whole Universe, the Star Guardian team are forced to change. A retelling of the "Burning Bright" story, with added detail.
1. Prologue

The legends claim that the Star Guardians would be summoned in times where the Universe was in peril at the hands of terrible evil, and the stars themselves were in danger. As one Star Guardian faded, another would take their place. Chosen for their strength, resolve and courage, the Star Guardians were to protect all galaxies and stars. Many planets have been saved by countless brave defenders, unbeknownst to the inhabitants. Guardians are said to work to blend in to the world of the planet, so their identity may be kept secret.

The legends also talk of the rare occasions in which a Star Guardian would rebel against her fate of servitude to the Universe. The cataclysmic shakes in the history of the Universe exist because of such girls. However, these rebels are unable to continue on living without using their powers for very long, so a new Guardian would replace her as she faded and the Universe would be put back in order.

That being said, one particular legend described a peculiar case in which the Star Guardian team of the time experienced greater trauma from a rebel than any other, and the Universe almost collapsed under the hands of evil.

The legend began with the summoning of the new team of Star Guardians. Plucked from their homes and thrown into a world of power, magic and wonder, the five girls fell towards a new planet; Earth.

 _"Leader!"_ Lux heard a voice in her head, one new and unfamiliar. Softly, she let her lids part and light filled her pink irises. Her first thoughts, predictably, were of her location and the identities of those around her. Gasping, she realised she was falling from the sky. Information flooded into her head, somehow explaining that she had been chosen to become a Star Guardian, leading a team consisting of herself, girls named Janna and Jinx, and two yordles named Poppy and Lulu. Where this came from, she couldn't fathom.

"Leader!" More clearly, she heard the voice again. She looked up to see a green-haired yordle. Her brain recognised this as "Lulu". Around her, she noticed a blue-haired yordle. Poppy. Lux was astounded. She identified a purple-haired girl as Janna, leaving the final red-haired girl to be Jinx.

She couldn't believe it. For years, growing up, all she had wanted was to be chosen as a Star Guardian. Her planet had been saved multiple times by the Star Guardians and she had admired them greatly. Of course, she never knew who they were, them having their whole "secret identity" thing, but she had wished to know them. A young girl with promising magic skills, Lux had grown up dreaming of becoming such a thing so much that it had bordered on obsession. A day didn't go by where she didn't wish to be able to use her gifts to help others. She recalled one particular day with her friend Quinn, where they had fought about Lux's chances of becoming a Star Guardian.

 _"I'm sure we'll find him somewhere." Lux reassured her friend._

 _"No we won't! He's gone!" Quinn protested._

 _"How can you be sure?"_

 _Quinn crossed her arms. "He's a bird, he won't come back." She flicked a strand of hair out of her face and pouted. "This is why you'll never become a Star Guardian. You can't even find Valor!"_

 _Lux stopped walking and turned to her friend, the hurt blaringly obvious in her eyes, despite her attempts to cover it with a witty remark. "At least I wouldn't lose my stupid bird."_

 _"Did you just call Valor stupid?!"_

 _"Yes, and you can find him yourself!"_

Quinn was the only person who knew of Lux's dreams, as she was too embarrassed to let any others know. _If only Quinn could see me now._

Her flashback was abruptly ended as she realised she was still falling through the air. She became more panicked as she realised that Jinx had begun to light up and turn to brilliant white crystals that then disappeared, and the other girls were beginning to do so too.

 _What do I do?_ She thought frantically, realising that through all her dreaming and researching, she hadn't actually ever planned for this moment. She never knew something like this would happen. She tried to cry Jinx's name, but her voice was lost in the wind blowing relentlessly from below.

Once Jinx had fully disappeared, she felt like crying. It had been mere seconds since she had become a Star Guardian, and one of her team members was already gone? It took a maximum of two more seconds for the other three to disappear as well. Lux had reached up towards them, hysterical and terrified. She began to feel a tingling feeling and noticed that she, too, was disappearing.

The others had looked so calm and peaceful, their eyes still closed, while they dissipated. Lux wondered desperately how they could have been. Was she meant to stop this? Was it a test? Had she failed? Would relaxing actually help? Questions buzzed like bees in her mind, and she tried to relax. Time seemed to slow down, letting her feel every cell in her body individually become crystallised. She couldn't believe that this was how she was going to end. The idea of this being a dream suddenly crossed her mind. But could one create full characters in their own dreams? Surely she couldn't have created this sensation of being turned into tiny white crystals. As the milliseconds ticked slowly by, she began to realise that there was no way this could possibly be classed as a dream. Nor could it be dubbed a nightmare. It had to be real. She couldn't tell if this was death, but she was definitely scared that it could be. She sighed softly and looked up at the lights above her. It truly was beautiful, the sky. She was honestly grateful to experience it like this. She decided not to accept this as her death and called out helplessly, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt her whole body crumble into brilliant white crystals that floated into nothingness.

 **A/N: Hello! Thanks for reading. I'm really interested in the new Star Guardian stuff and I have a full story idea based loosely off the "Burning Bright" music video and the skin set as a whole. I'm not a good updater, but I'll try my best to get this up if people really enjoy it. Thank you, and don't hesitate to leave a review! I'd appreciate no flames, but constructive criticism is welcomed, and of course if you like it, you can say that too. Thanks again for reading!**


	2. Chapter 1: Translating Worlds

A… school? That's where she was? Of course, Lux recognised the desks and set up of a classroom, but she could tell that it wasn't Runeterra High. Looking to her left, she saw a purple-haired girl absorbed in a book. _Janna_ , her brain reminded her, and she realised that the past events hadn't been a dream at all. She'd been falling through the sky, a Star Guardian, with the other Guardians, then they'd turned into crystals and disappeared and… awoken in a classroom? Wait… A Star Guardian. She'd become a Star Guardian.

Confused, she turned to where she heard two loud voices behind her, and saw two yordles. A green-haired and a blue-haired, eating bentos together. Lulu and Poppy. Lulu gave her a small smile, while Poppy momentarily lowered the lunch from her face to offer an odd look. Lux turned around and noticed the empty desk in front of her, covered in drawings, the name "Jinx" in graffiti on the chair back. Where was Jinx? Lux had seen all the other girls, but not her.

Lux turned back to Janna, reaching over to softly tap her shoulder. "Umm, sorry, I'm Lux and umm…"

"I'll tell you everything after school, okay?" Janna said quietly, not looking up from her book. "Eat something, you look hungry. I'm sure either Lulu or Poppy have food for you."

"O-oh, okay… thank you." Lux stuttered. She was overflowing with nervousness. This was her one shot to protect people and use magic for some useful good, and she didn't want to mess up. Janna's perfect posture and intelligent eyes intimidated Lux.

"Here you go!" Lulu said cheerfully from behind her, and she turned to see a traditional Japanese lunch being held out for her by the green-haired yordle.

Lux smiled brightly. "Thank you, Lulu!" She took the lunch box. "Umm, what foods are these?"

Lulu grinned. "Well, we're on planet Earth, and this is food from one of the countries on this planet. I thought we could eat from different countries until we find what we like best. This is the food from the country we are in, though. It's called Japan! Oh, they have their own language, too. But that's okay, because our powers allow us to understand and speak in any language without really noticing too much."

"You sure know a lot, don't you?" Lux smiled. _Make a good impression,_ she told herself sternly.

The green-haired yordle smiled wider, her eyes sparkling. "I guess I do, huh?"

Lux turned back around, absent-mindedly opening the bento as she gazed at the desk in front of her. She again wondered where Jinx was. Her eyes eventually moved towards her lunch, as she lifted some rice into her mouth. Eating silently, Lux was left to her thoughts. She wondered exactly what her life would be like now. She knew she had to give up her old life, her freedom, and everything she knew for this. Her friends, her family… she thought of her brother, Quinn, and her parents. Would she ever see them again?

Of course, she'd never expected to actually be chosen as a Star Guardian. Who would? She always knew she had the right qualities, but that never actually meant she'd get chosen. Lots of people were brave, strong and everything a Star Guardian should be. Dropped into these circumstances, Lux realised that she knew very little about the life of a Star Guardian. _It's my duty to protect the Universe,_ she thought. _But what exactly does that entail?_

Lux jumped at the sound of a hand slapping a desk. "Alright, listen up boys and girls." A female voice monotonously called. "My name is Miss Fortune and I'm your new teacher for maths." Lux's eyes were met with a very young-looking woman, wearing a low-cut white shirt with a black pencil skirt and impractically tall wedged black heels. She grinned in a way that made Lux unsure of what to expect.

Turns out, Miss Fortune was the best teacher Lux had ever seen. She cared enough to make sure everyone was understanding the content, but also made sure everyone enjoyed the class. Miss Fortune loved games and prizes, so a lot of maths-inspired competitions were played in class. Winners would receive small chocolates or lollipops.

Janna had racked up a rather impressive pile of such treats, her facial expression still unwaveringly stoic. She intrigued Lux, who noticed Poppy staring angrily at her uneaten pile of sweets.

"I'm gonna win this one, no matter what!" She declared, her blue pigtails bouncing as she stood up, raising her hand as high as possible. She was yet to win her own prize. "Miss Fortune!"

Miss Fortune turned around from facing the blackboard, looking over her shoulder at the yordle. "Yeah?"

"I got the answer!" Poppy stood proudly, holding up a piece of paper filled with scribbles of mathematic equations, a number circled in the middle.

"That was quick," Miss Fortune remarked. "Let me come and check it."

Lux noticed how much Poppy wanted to win, to get what she wanted. _She's so determined,_ she thought.

Lux also noticed how Miss Fortune somehow had gotten everybody to win at least twice. Stopping anyone from feeling insecure about their skills was something her teaching method really nailed.

"Good job, Poppy! You got it right!" Miss Fortune said, her tone more encouraging than condescending.

The yordle watched as she pulled out a bunch of colourful lollipops, reaching instantly for the bright red one.

~time skip~

"So, we get to save people and stuff?" Poppy asked Janna, who had mentioned that she used to lead the previous Star Guardian team.

"It is our duty to protect the Universe, yes." Janna affirmed, not making eye contact. Lux wondered if her stoic personality had anything to do with leading a team of Star Guardians before. Maybe losing them had affected her? Lux wondered if she would have to lose this team.

"So, we hab 'agic powers n' spuff?" Lulu questioned through the lollipop sticking out of her mouth.

Lux remained silent as the yordles asked Janna questions at a rapid speed. After a few minutes, Janna raised her eyes from the ground to Lux.

"Any questions, leader?"

Lux gulped, nodding her head slightly and disregarding the fact that she was yet to be called by her name. "Umm, where's the other girl?"

Janna sighed. "Jinx is the newest of all of us. She was the last to appear during the call, and none of us have seen her since. She's rejected her fate. That's the main thing we need to talk about today."

The purple-haired girl stopped walking, looking out to the side and softly closing her pale lids. "If a Star Guardian rejects her fate, the consequences ripple across the entire Universe. A team of four Guardians cannot protect the world, and if Jinx can't learn to accept her fate… well, she'll become one of the Dark Stars."

"D-dark Stars?!" Lux squeaked. "You mean they actually exist?"

Janna took a deep breath. "The only known Dark Star is the original one. Any Star Guardian who cannot see the light will inevitably be consumed by the power and manipulation of the Dark Star. He is a collector of souls, and his ultimate goal is to collect those of the purest beings- Star Guardians."

Lux took a step towards Janna, reaching out to gently touch her arm, but decided against it.

Janna breathed out slowly, then continued speaking. "His powers are based on self-doubt and hate. His name is Thresh, and if we don't do something, Jinx's soul _will_ be claimed by him."

 **A/N: Okay, so I didn't really intend for such an intense ending to this chapter but oh well. Please leave thoughts/suggestions for what you think I should do next. I have a plan, but if anyone really wants something to be included then I'll consider it. Constructive criticism welcome. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2: Blood, Sweat and Tears

Jinx hadn't come to school yet, and it had been several days. Lux tried not to let it bug her too much, because Janna had mentioned that all Star Guardians get forcefully summoned when they are needed, so if anything happened, Jinx would have to show up.

Lux heard a groan from behind her, and she noticed that her science teacher, Professor Vayne, had made her way into the room. She was strict, disliked children and set a lot of homework. Not very well liked by her students, but she couldn't care less.

She taught because she thought everyone should be educated to eradicate fools, and science was, in her eyes, the most important subject. She lectured on physics, chemistry _and_ biology, overloading everyone's brains every lesson.

"Today we're going to be studying Newton's 3 Laws." Professor Vayne stated, turning around to begin writing formulas and notes on the blackboard.

Lux pulled out her pastel yellow science notebook, clicking her pen and copying down notes almost as fast as Professor Vayne could write them. She disliked science, but fitting in was such as important role that she couldn't just skip classes. Besides, she was a good student, and assured herself that her life would be enriched by scientific knowledge, whether her life as a Star Guardian required it or not.

The rest of the lesson was filled with sleeping teenagers and whispered complaints. Lux was more than happy for the bell to ring, signalling the end of the day. Gathering up her things, she waited for homeroom to end, then raced to her locker to collect her things. Today, she was going to train with the Star Guardians for the first time.

As she entered the school gym, the doors closed and locked with a small click. The rest of her team were standing inside. Lux finally noticed small, furry creatures hovering beside Lulu and Janna.

"Hey," She said, cheerfully but with a hint of nervousness.

Before she had time to ask, Lulu jumped in with the explanation of her furry friend. "This is Pix!" She grinned. "He's a fae spirit and he helps with my magic!"

Lux walked over and lifted an arm towards the white creature, who instantly jumped into her palm, curious eyes looking up at her. Lux noted how cute and playful he was, and how he seemed the opposite of malicious.

After a short moment, Lulu reached up and plucked him from Lux's grasp, giving him a small hug before letting him rest on her shoulder.

Lux turned to Janna, who had been watching on in silence. "Is yours a fae spirit, too?"

Janna shook her head. "It's a wind spirit, actually."

Lux asked what its name was, but got back an odd reply. "It doesn't have a name. Why personify things when it only makes them harder to lose?"

The pink-haired girl had no response, but wondered how horrific Janna's past must have been.

"Anyway, can we train now?" Poppy asked impatiently, breaking through the silence.

Janna's response was to send her wind spirit crashing into the yordle with a nonchalant wave of her hand, who barely kept herself from falling to the ground. Janna's transformation time was incredibly fast.

With a grin, Poppy transformed and lifted her hammer, twirling it effortlessly around in her hand like a pen. "Let's go."

Explosions of magic soon followed. Poppy engaged with Janna and her wind spirit, sending blue light from her hammer in their direction. Janna deflected with a flick of her staff and the resulting whirlwind that followed.

After Poppy sent a blue star flying through said whirlwind, Janna fully turned towards her, her interest finally caught. "You're good," she mused. "That's good."

They continued to fight. Lulu, however, was off in her own world with Pix, exploring her own techniques. Green light and bright stars flew around her in various formations, before she finally began to engage in combat.

"Come on, Lux! Let's try out all our magic!" She smiled brightly and sincerely.

Lux transformed, reaching up into the air above her head, where her baton shimmered into existence. With a grin, she sent brilliant pink light towards the green-haired yordle, who used a complicated array of moves and sparkling stars to dodge and deflect.

They practiced for hours, Janna and Poppy relentlessly throwing attacks at each other that never hit. They were both too skilled. Janna too experienced, and Poppy much too determined.

Lux and Lulu, however, used the training period to explore their abilities in a less violent way, and a more skill-based way. Magically-generated targets and team-based goals helped the two to really understand their potential.

After a while, Poppy was finally hurt. Sliced in the arm by a sharp shot of wind, she gritted her teeth, biting back the pain and growling as she ran towards Janna for the millionth time, using a powerful technique for the first time and smashing through Janna's leg.

The purple-haired girl cried out, placing herself in a protective mini-tornado that begun healing her instantly.

Lux and Lulu stopped instantly at the sound, and Poppy stood in shock. She hadn't expected to actually hurt the veteran Star Guardian.

Janna stepped through the tornado, letting it dissipate behind her. "That was really good, Poppy. You're very strong."

The blue-haired yordle's jaw dropped. She'd just hurt her teammate, and was being praised for it?

Janna stepped forward and ruffled her hair, offering her a small grin of approval. Looking up towards the others, remnants of her grin lingering in her eyes, Janna asked Lux if she thought the team was ready to stop training for the night.

Momentarily having forgotten she was the leader, not the purple-haired girl, Lux blinked before nodding. "Yeah, I think everyone did really well. Maybe we should train again next week?"

Janna nodded. "Alright, thank you."

Poppy covered the cut on her arm, before Janna turned back to her and waved a soft puff of wind over it, swirling around the wound and clearing it up. "Sorry," she muttered.

Poppy gave a triumphant smile. "Yeah, it's fine. I hit you way harder back."

Janna smiled softly again. "Yes, you did." She transformed gently back into her regular clothes, the wind spirit flying off into nothingness. Poppy threw her hammer up in the air, spinning it and letting it burst into a small ball of light, taking away the magic around the yordle and leaving her back in her school uniform.

Lulu gave Pix a squeeze before letting jump into the air and sing a short, high-pitched note before disappearing. Lulu brushed her hands over her uniform, then hugged herself. She was already missing her magic, and her friend.

Lux spun around in a circle, flinging her baton upwards, watching it shimmer into nothingness as it fell back towards her head. She felt all her magic being contained within her, slowing to a stop and placing a raised foot back on the ground, her school shoe loudly clicking on the ground rather than her Star Guardian boot.

Picking up her discarded schoolbag, she led her friends out of the gym and towards their shared house.

 **A/N: As usual, please leave thoughts, comments and constructive criticism in a review, and thanks for reading. Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I'm glad people are enjoying it. Special thanks to those who favourited/followed :D**


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